Steering mechanism for excavating-machines.



0. B. KING, 0. B. WESTON & L. E. RUSSELL.

STEERING MECHANISM FOR EXGAVATING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1.1913.

Patented June 16, 1914.

Clarence 0. B. KING, 0. B. WESTON & L. R. RUSSELL.

STEERING MECHANISM FOR EXGAVATING MACHINES.

Patented June 16, 1914.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

AFPLIGATION EILED NOV.1,1913.

Charlla Cl/arcncc B Loads fiusseb,

Gum O UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES B. KING, CLARENCE B. WESTON, AND LOUIS It. RUSSELL, OF MARION,OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE MARION STEAM SHOVEL COMPANY, OF MARION, OHIO, ACOIL PORATION OF OHIO.

STEERING MECHANISM FOR EXCAVATING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES B. KING, CLARENCE B. WESTON, and LOUIS R.RUs- SELL, citizens of the United States, residing at Marion, in thecounty of Marion and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Steering Mechanism for Excavating-Machines, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawing.

This invention relates to steering mechanism for excavating machines ofthe rotary type. Excavating machines of this type comprise a truckhaving mounted thereon a rotatable platform which carries the powermechanism and the excavating mechanism and is capable of rotation toenable the excavating mechanism to be operated at any point of thecircle. Where this type of excavating mechanism is provided withtraction wheels or is otherwise designed for use 'without tracks it isnecessary that steering mechanism be provided to control the directionof its travel. The steering is preferably accomplished by powermechanism and where the power mechanism mounted on the platform isutilized for this purpose it is necessary that some connection beestablished between those parts of the steering mechanism which are onthe platform and those parts thereof which are on the truck, whichconnection will permit of the movement of the platform relatively to thetruck. If a clutch mechanism is employed to establish this connectionthe excavatin mechanism must always be brought bac; to an initialposition which will cause the clutch mechanisms to engage one with theother. Such an arrangement is unsatisfactory because it is inconvenientand sometimes impossible, because of obstructions, to return theexcavating devices to this initial position. It is also possible toextend the steering connection through a hollow propelling shaft whichis mounted on the axis of rotation of the platform, but this hollowshaft forms a very convenient method of connecting the boiler with asource of water supply and for that reason is unavailable for thesteering mechanism.

It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide meanswhereby those parts of the steering devices on the rotatable platformwill be operatively connected with those parts of the steering deviceson the truck at all times regardless of the rotation of the platform.

' In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 1s a side elevation, partiallybroken away, of a rotary shovel embodying our invention; Flg. 2 is atransverse, sectional View, showing the connecting devices; Fig. 3 is avertical, sectional view taken on the line w 0c of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 isa sectional, detail view of the clutch mechanism for controlling theoperation of the steering devices.

In these drawings, we have illustrated the invention as applied to asteam shovel of the rotary type, which is mounted upon the usualtraction wheels, but it will be understood that this form of machine ischosen for the purpose of illustration and that the device is applicableto machines of other kinds.

The mechanism here illustrated comprises a truck consisting of a frame1, propelling wheels 2 and steering Wheels 3. Mounted upon the truck androtatable about a fixed axis is a platform 4 having mounted thereon thepower mechanism, such as a boiler 5 and an engine 6, and the excavatingmechanism which consists of a boom and its cooperat ing devices, aportion only of the boom being shown at 7. This platform is connected tothe truck by means of a central pin 8 and rotary movement is imparted tothe platform by means of a pinion 9 carried by the platform and meshingwith an annular rack 10 secured to the truck frame. The details of thismechanism and its operation being well known will require no furtherdescription here. The steering wheels of the truck may be controlled inany suitable manner, that chosen for the purpose of illustrationconsisting of cables 11, arranged one on each side of the machine, andeach connected at one end to a fixed part of the truck, extending aboutguide pulleys 12 connected with the respective ends of the axle andhaving their opposite ends connected to drums 13 secured to a shaft 14,said cables being wound about their respective drums in oppositedirections, whereby the rotation of the shaft in either direction willcause one drum to wind u its cable and the other drum to unwind 1tscable, thus imparting a turning movement to the axle carrying thesteering wheels. The shaft 1 1 may be rotated in any suitable manner butas here shown it has mounted thereon a worm wheel 15 meshing with a worm16 carried by a shaft 17 extending upward above the truck frame andhaving mounted thereon a pinion 18.

The power for operating the steering mechanism may be secured eitherfrom a special engine or from the power driven mechanism. In the presentinstance we have chosen to actuate the steering devices from the drivinggear 19 for the hoisting drum, which gear meshes with a pinion 20 on anengine shaft 21.

The driving gear 19 meshes with a pinion 22 on a shaft 23, which shaftconstitutes the main driving shaft for the steering devices and hasloosely mounted thereon two bevel pinions 24 each permanently in meshwith a bevel pinion 25 carried by a vertical shaft 26. A clutch 27 isslidably mounted upon the shaft 23 and is adapted to engage eitherpinion and connect the same to the shaft, in a well known manner, thusenabling the shaft and consequently the steering devices to be rotatedin either direction. The shaft 26 has at its lower end a gear 28 similarto the gear 18 and arranged in a plane slightly higher than the plane ofthe gear 18. To provide an operative connection between the gears 28 and18 whereby they will be caused to move in unison regardless of therotation of the platform 4 they are both caused to mesh with a gear 29mounted to rotate about the axis of rotation of the pin 8. The gear 29is loosely supported and constitutes merely an intermediate gear betweenthe gears 28 and 18 and it will be apparent that upon the rotation ofthe gear 18 the gear 29 will be rotated and impart similar movement tothe gear 18 and it will be further apparent that this rotation will bein nowise affected by the movement of the ear 28 about the axis ofrotation of the plat orm 4. The character of the gear 29 and the mannerof mounting the same may be varied but in the present instance we haveshown it in the form of a shell gear or ring loosely mounted upon abearing collar 30 extending about and supported by a cylindrical casing31 carried by the truck and through which the connecting pin 8 extends.

The operation of the mechanism has been fully explained in connectionwith the construction thereof and it will be apparent that we haveprovided a very simple and a very eflicient steering mechanism, theparts of which are at all times in operative engagement regardless ofthe rotary movement of the platform.

While we have shown and described one embodiment of our invention itwill be understood that this has been chosen for the purpose ofillustration only and that we do not desire to be limited to the detailsof construction shown and described, for obvious modifications willoccur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a truck having steering wheels, and a platformrotatably mounted on said truck, of cooperating steering devices carriedby said truck and said platform, respectively, and operableindependently of the rotation of said platform, and means to maintain anoperative connection between said steering devices when rotary movementis imparted to said platform.

2. The combination, with a truck having steering wheels, and a platformrotatably mounted on said truck, of cooperating steering devices carriedby said truck and said platform, respectively, and each comprising agear, and a third gear rotatable about the axis of rotation of saidplatform and-meshing with both of the first-mentioned gears.

3. The combination, with a truck having steering wheels, steeringdevices carried by said truck and operatively connected with saidwheels, said steering devices comprising a vertical shaft, and a gearsecured thereto, of a platform rotatably mounted on said truck, on aVertical axis, power mechanism carried by said truck, steering devicescarried by said plat-form, connected with said power mechanism andcomprising a vertical shaft and a gear secured thereto, said gear beingarranged in a plane above the plane of the first-mentioned gear, and agear rotatable about the axis of rotation of said platform and meshinwith the gears of both parts of said steering mechanism.

4. The combination, with a truck having steering wheels, a platformsupported above said truck, and a pin rotatabl connecting said platformto said truck, 0 cooperating steering devices carried by said truck andsaid platform, respectively, and a connecting device supported by saidpin and operatively connected with both of said steering devices,whereby movement imparted to one of said steering devices will betransmitted through said connecting device to the other steering device.

5. The combination, with a truck having steering wheels, a platformsupported above said truck, and a pin rotatably connecting said platformto said truck, of cooperating steering devices carried by said truck andsaid platform, respectively, and each comprising a gear, and an annulargear extending about said pin and rotatable about the axis thereof andmeshing with the gears of both of said steering devices.

6. The combination, with a truck comprising steering wheels, a platformsupported above said truck, a casing carried by one of said members, apin extending through In testimony whereof, we afiix our signasaidcasing and rotatably connecting said tures in presence of two witnesses.

platform to said truck, of an annular gear CHARLES B. KING. extendingabout and rotatably mounted on CLARENCE B. WESTON. said casing, andcoiiperating steering devices LOUIS R. RUSSELL. carried by said truckand said platform, re- Witnesses:

spectively, each of said devices comprising ALBERT W. GRACELY,

a gear meshing with said annular gear. D. L. CULP.

